While escort cards and escort table are a much more popular choice for most contemporary weddings, some black tie weddings and events will call for place cards.

When I received the request for calligraphy of place cards for a black tie wedding, I had to do some research to make sure that I would be delivering them a product that met their expectations of formality.

Usually when I create place cards and escort cards I find myself using up a lot of space on the card and putting the guests first name on the first line and surname on a second line below the first name. This usually looks fantastic and creates a beautiful composition on the card, but this is not proper etiquette for the most formal events.

If you are creating a place card for a very formal black tie event you want to have the full name including title all centered on the same line. The correct version of this would be the image of the card you see on the left. The card of the right would be better suited for a semi-formal or cocktail attire wedding.

One more tip is that for the most formal or black tie events, all of the calligraphy should be black ink on white paper (the best quality 100% cotton rag you can find of course!). I love metallic inks, and thankfully this bride did as well, but I do always recommend black ink for calligraphy if I know that the event of wedding is very formal. I always want to make sure that I am meeting the client's expectations and making it look like they are in the know as well ;)

In the end there are no real rules when it comes to weddings and events, but I feel strongly that knowing the traditional answers to these questions will help me give insight and context to the client's choices.

Sometimes you have to ship your work to a printer, or letterpress studio that may be on the other side of the country and you need to insure that the artwork you are sending will stay flat and undamaged in the shipping process. Today I had to do exactly that. My husband is helping me demonstrate my packing process.

I am shipping calligraphy for a stationary order to the fabulous letterpress studio of Julie Holcomb Printers.

STEP 1: The first thing I am going to do is to take the pieces of artwork (I have two individual pieces in this package) and I cover them with another sheet of vellum to protect the artwork and keep it clean. We put the artwork covered by vellum on a larger sheet of clean white paper and tape it down using Nichiban Tape.

The Nichiban Tape is very important. You want to find Nichiban Masking Tape No.241 it is a type of Japanses Washi tape, but without all the silly designs and colors and ridiculous mark up. The trend around Washi tape made the price jump and people shouldn't be paying so much for it. This tape holds strong and is very water resistant but pulls easily off the paper and never tears or damages the paper.

Notice how we tape just two corners down to the back paper and then make a tab with the tape by leaving some up on the end and folding it over on itself so you have the tab. It makes it extra easy for the printer to get the tape off without damaging the paper or the artwork.

STEP 2: Cut the backing large paper down to a smaller size then the cardboard pieces you have. Have a piece of cardboard that is generous in size compared to the artwork.

These are my husband's hands! NOT MINE! He is a master architectural model maker and designer with Rafael Viñoly Architects so he knows what he is doing!!

STEP 3: Tape the backing paper with attached artwork to the cardboard. You can use card board or mat board. Just don't use something where the color will rub off. Tape every corner of the backing paper to the cardboard with the Nichiban tape.

all corners are taped down to the cardboard

STEP 4: Tape a second piece of cardboard the exact same size to the one with your artwork on it. Put the tape around the outside edge. Use a thicker piece of Nichiban tape if you have it. That will help.

Photo is a little blurry, but it's an action shot. Put the tape on there nice and EVENLY!

STEP 5: We are almost there... Take a permanent and waterproof marker, like a sharpie to the outside edge of where you put the tape. Make a dashed line around that edge and make it a little thicker so that it shows around all edges. Make sure the line looks like the type of line that visually says "CUT HERE"

STEP 6: Then just write "CUT HERE" around all the edges.

This is to make sure they don't cut with a blade across the package, or try to tear the package open and damage the art.

Also remember to write on the outside of the cardboard your name, the person who will be receiving it's name and the client's name as well as the project's name. This is to make sure it doesn't accidentally get thrown out if people don't know what it is.

This all goes into a FED EX or USPS envelope when you go to ship it. Those don't offer a lot of protection, so that is why it is worth it to go through this process. For some pieces you may be able to ship with the art and paper rolled into a tube for art. They sell those at shipping places, but they can get pricey and are not good for small pieces that are going to printers that need to be scanned. It is better to keep things flat when you can.

Most of us feel confident in our ability to write a proper thank you note, but my time in a professional office setting has shown that many excellent job candidates may not be aware of the faux pas they may be making in their own thank you notes.

A thank you note is just like a conversation. The written content in the note is exactly like what you would verbally communicate to your audience. The physical card, the envelope, and your handwriting are the body language in the conversation. We know that body language is extremely important in a professional setting and can give you an advantage over other candidates. The physical card you choose is a last and final opportunity to express your good judgement and set a strong tone of voice for the actual content of your message.

CHOOSING AN APPROPRIATE CARD:

For family and friends go with where ever your spirit takes you. Heartfelt or humorous, they will love it. However, for professional thank you notes (especially when an important job may be on the line) your card decision absolutely matters. Pick a card that is clean, elegant. Make sure the card is of decent quality to show that you are genuinely grateful. No novelty cards!

I learned this lesson quickly while I was working at a small tech company in Pittsburgh.

The thank you note that I sent the hiring manager was a card they must have really enjoyed because they kept the note pinned up on their cubicle wall all year. It was a very small and simple card that was turquoise with a gold foil that said “Thank You”. I bought a box of these at TJMaxx (Yes I am a Maxxinista!) Having a classic and simple card made a lasting good impression and showed that I was earnest in my gratitude.

Another potential candidate for a job at this company sent a thank you note that was written probably just as well as my note, but the card had a photo of a funny bull dog. Everyone at the company loved dogs, and this probably came up in the interview, but the hiring manager and the business manager laughed at the card and said “What were they thinking!” It was a case of laughing at – not laughing with. Their card did not make a good impression. They did not get the job (probably for other reasons that came up during the interview, but this card did not help.) Your last impression may be more important then the first impression.

MAKE SURE YOUR CARD IS GENDER NEUTRAL! I know that statement may sound strange. How does a card have a gender?

If the hiring manager that you interviewed with is a woman do not send a card that has stereotypically female designs. No hearts, no extreme florals and nothing cutesy. You do not know who might open the mail at the office, and this it might come off as inappropriate and juvenile. You do not know this person well at all, so don’t send them something based on what you think they will like, send something that expresses your good taste and thoughtful style.

Below are links to packs of Thank you cards that I would recommend to young professionals. I picked these out because they have an elegant, minimal and neutral design. I tried to list them from least expensive to most expensive.

I learned from the fabulous stationer Sara Hargreaves from Scribe Stationary, that when you write a thank you not on a folded notecard the convention is to only write on the bottom portion of the card (below the fold). I am guilty of filling the whole card above and below the fold with text, but that is not the proper thing to do.

I didn’t even know that was a thing until Sara told me. I absolutely had to share this little bit of etiquette knowledge so that you all can be sure you are doing everything right when you send your future Thank you notes!